Rising for the fifth straight session, the rupee gained 9 paise at 66.31 against the dollar in early trade on Monday at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters.

Forex dealers said sustained selling of the American unit by exporters and the dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas supported the rupee, but a lower opening in domestic equity market restricted the gains.

The rupee had appreciated by a modest two paise to settle at 66.40 against the greenback on Friday.

It had gained 69 paise in the past four trading sessions. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 105.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to trade at 25,413.54 in early trade.